The synthesis of elements heavier than uranium has opened up new spheres in our knowledge of nature and new fields of nuclear physics and chemistry. The trans- uranic elements, the heaviest in Mendeleev’s Periodic Table, are throwing new light on the structure of the atomic nucleus and the mechanisms of reactions be­ tween nuclei, enabling us to understand the chemical pro­ perties of newly produced elements, and to clarify ideas on the Periodic Law.

The story of current nuclear physics is full of surprises and is an intriguing tale of imaginative exploration and painstaking, persistent search, of heartbreaking failure and unexpected results. The author, Elaine Knor- re, a science correspondent of the Novosti News Agency, knows many of the people involved personally, and has herself been present at some of the crucial moments in the discovery of new elements. Thus she has an inside knowledge of the story that makes her account interesting and reader will find it attractive.

The book was translated from the Russian  by M. Brodskaya and was edited by H. C. Creighton. The book was published by Mir in 1974.

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